News Release from AASCU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2019-03-12

Contact: Jennifer Walpole (202) 478-4665

STUDENT SUCCESS ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY WILL CONNECT STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE NATION

The American Association of State Colleges & Universities (AASCU) has launched a new service to support its member institutions in further enhancing their student success outcomes—especially for low-income students, students of color, and first-generation college students. This student success engagement strategy will
leverage the collective knowledge of AASCU’s member institutions and draw from emerging national practices—allowing institutions to connect, share tools and expertise, and exchange promising practices. Development of this new service is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Many public universities across the country recognize the moral imperative to increase graduation rates and narrow achievement gaps for current and future generations of students. However, rather than each campus working on these challenges in isolation, AASCU’s service will harness the power of its members’ collective
knowledge to more effectively address the needs of their diverse student populations.

“With this strategy, AASCU embarks on a new comprehensive set of activities to assist our member institutions as they focus on student success,” said Dr. Mildred García, president of AASCU. “We are grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their support of AASCU and our member campuses.”

As part of the new service, AASCU will convene a national peer learning network of members undertaking similar student success transformation, allowing campuses to exchange lessons learned and promising practices. In addition, AASCU will provide campuses with custom technical assistance, by conducting an institutional
self-assessment, reviewing institutional data, setting measurable goals, and developing a campus plan.

During the first phase of the initiative, six institutions will help AASCU hone the service’s offerings. The institutions—which vary in size, urbanicity and student diversity—include Austin Peay State University (Tenn.), Bowie State University (Md.), California
State University-San Bernardino, Henderson State University (Ark.), Lehman College in The City University of New York, and Northwest Missouri State University.

These institutions will work with AASCU for 15 months to refine and validate the institutional transformation process at the heart of the student success strategy. AASCU is proud to launch this new initiative, supporting members in their efforts to improve student outcomes.

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The
American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of nearly 400 public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to
research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development. These are institutions Delivering America’s Promise of Opportunities for All